


Pumpkin Pot Pies

by Little_Egg_Rat



Category: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick - Chris Van Allsburg
Genre: Child Murder, Halloween, School Project, The Black Plague, Theft, Thriller, everyone dies, unintentional murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-22 16:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22485622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Egg_Rat/pseuds/Little_Egg_Rat
Summary: Every Autumn, Jade would carefully sneak into her neighbor’s extravagant garden, just across the dead, dried patch of land belonging to the empty house between them. What happens when her niece Ari finds her carving a special pumpkin for her?





	Pumpkin Pot Pies

**Author's Note:**

> This was a narrative I wrote for school based off of the Harris Burdick images, mainly the image titled "The Pumpkin." I would not recommend if you are sensitive to character death and graphic scenes of death.

Every Autumn, Jade would carefully sneak into her neighbor’s extravagant garden, just across the dead, dried patch of land belonging to the empty house between them. She would come back, her scratched up legs running as fast as she could, arms carrying a large pumpkin. She would take several pumpkins, having to take multiple trips to carry the large, heavy fruit in her pale arms. The oranges, reds, greens, yellows, and whites began to pile up on her rickety porch, threatening it’s collapse.

This tradition stayed with her for years, ever since her second year of primary school. She was now in her thirties, continuing her questionable tradition of midnight theft. Her plans were set in stone as her hands smoothed down the translucent plastic onto her kitchen counters and floor. Once finished, she stood and admired her carving area, wrapped in clean plastic, sharp knives waiting to dig into the colored flesh of the season’s fruit, a designated area for the pumpkins waiting in line for their beautifying, one for those whom had already been carved, and an area for the current patient with a large plastic bowl who’s vibrant green faded to a near gray set beside it.

She left the room with a gentle smile slowly stretching into one of sinister intentions. The padding of her bare feet seemed to disappear in her joy and excitement. “Carving area is set, Ari! I’ll get the pumpkins in a bit.” She called to her niece, who lived with her. “We can carve them tomorrow morning!”

Jade’s calls were met with a faint laugh of joy and a cough. Three wet coughs followed soon after. With a quick sigh, Jade spun on her heel, walking briskly to the kitchen. Her feet maneuvered as if they were avoiding landmines and certain doom to keep her hard work pristine. The left cupboard’s joints squealed in rage as it was swung open, a cool glass retrieved from its doors.

Water flowed gracefully from the tap into the glass below, filling it up with the substance. Once full, Jade turned off the rusty tap and walked to the dumbwaiter, placing it in and ringing the bell. Ropes were pulled, slowly raising the platform higher and higher to Ari’s room, the clear, thin liquid sloshing and splashing in the container, slowly spilling out onto the wood. Jade would have to hurry.

Her grey-blue eyes peeked to her kitchen, where a folded sheet of plastic lay, several knives, a spoon, and a bowl atop of it. Ari had to stay upstairs to keep her aunt happy and dark spot free, so those would be hers. Jade had heard of a treatment from someone, yet the doctor has yet to come in to check on the ill girl. Soon everything will be okay, that was what they told themselves.

After hours of waiting, the time had finally come. Midnight had struck and darkness had fallen. Time suddenly felt as if it slowed as Jade pushed herself to her feet. The wood floor seemed to creak with the wind pushing away all regards of decency. This would be her last run and it would be extravagant. She briskly walked outside, her shoes on her feet tightly to keep them from falling off. Jade was ready for the run of a lifetime.

The moment the door shut, her feet picked up the pace as Jade broke into a sprint, travelling across her large yard as fast as she could. The gentle brushing of grass against her feet soon turned to a stomach-churning crunch, near enough to make her sick. Every step she took seemed to take eternity as she bounced off her foot and into the air again.

Stepping onto green grass once more, she pulled out a kitchen knife she had brought with her to cut the pumpkins loose. She selected the ones she wanted, moving them by her exit, and taking them one by one across the field. Once the pumpkin was set down on her porch, she readied herself for another sprint, repeating this process until she was done. When she entered the pumpkin patch one last time, something peculiar caught her eye.

A bright glowing light just to her left was coming from the field. Anxiety shot through her veins with a cold feeling as she finally let herself go to look. Jade’s feet moved carefully, carrying her small body across the patch slowly to see this light. It wasn’t moving or pointing anywhere, which was odd for a flashlight or lantern.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Jade arrived at the light, the source rather strange A single pumpkin so white that it seemed to be glowing. She stared at this wondrous object for her personal eternity to realize that it itself was glowing. The light produced by this lantern was clear and bright, just like the sun’s rays in a late summer’s afternoon.

She picked the light up as quick as she could, feeling as if it were a hundred pounds in her arms. She stood haphazardly, swaying under the weight, running across the dark field, her way now lit by this glowing pumpkin. Her heart stopped the moment she felt her foot slip under her, as she fought to keep balance. She braced to drop to the ground when she felt herself stand straight once again. Finally, her heartbeat again as she let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding in as she ran once more.

Once her back slapped against her door, she set the pumpkin down onto her carving area. She couldn’t wait to mutilate it into true beauty for her pleasure. She grabbed the largest knife she had, not bothering to draw out some silly design. Would it keep glowing? Would it dim? Grow brighter? All these questions ripped her skull apart until she finally stared down her victim. She raised the knife above it ready but hesitated. What if she was caught? No, she couldn’t think of that now, she was already so close.

As if she were mad, Jade near screamed as she stared at it’s sickening light, drawing attention to her shining knife, ready to tear apart the fruit’s flesh. She wasn’t ready, but she had to do it now. With a deep sigh, she was ready. The bright light flickered for a moment, before she finally gave in. She lowered the knife and it grew even brighter. Her stomach churned as she finally cut through the thick rim.

As if it were human, the pumpkin began to leak a clear substance. It took a moment for it to gain a vibrant red color and the strong scent of iron. It was bleeding onto her beautiful setup. In a race of curiosity, Jade sawed open the top, slowly lifting it by the stem. The metal scent in the air grew stronger and stronger as her thoughts got worse and worse.

Cautiously, Jade peered into the still-glowing pumpkin. It dimmed quickly yet it hadn’t quite gone out. Inside was a sickening sight, making Jade’s stomach churn. A beating human heart surrounded by a pair of lungs. Blood spilled onto the floor now, the warm, thick substance being absorbed into her shoes. She dropped the knife and ran to the sink, heaving over and over. The glow was finally gone.

What had she done, oh what had she done! Finally, she screamed, letting her voice be heard. The noise caused Ari to rush down, near slipping in her socks. Ari would be traumatized! Jade’s eyes were brought back to the table, her stomach knotting and twisting when she realized that it was the neighbor boy, his light now gone, sitting on her counter. The young boy sat, terror frozen onto his forever still face.

“Oh my god.” Croaked Jade, her voice shattering as she realized what she had done. She felt guilty or sick. Anything but good.

“Auntie? What have you done? What have you done to him?” Ari’s tiny, sweet voice asked, tearing up. Her hands scratched at her arms. “Auntie what on Earth have you done?”

Jade’s eyes looked down onto her blood-stained arms. An apology would never be enough. Ari would think she’s a murderer for the rest of her life. Tears began to fall from their cheeks as they both cried. Feet slapped on the floor as Ari ran back to her bedroom, ready for anything to happen.

Jade looked around. The room was not much lighter than outside, the sky dark in the deep sea of the early morning. Weakness and fatigue walked over her, making her fall to her knees in raw emotion, screaming out in horror. She never meant for it to be like this. Stealing pumpkins was harmless but killing someone? Unforgivable.

Coughs seemed to rip her throat apart as she released hack after hack, collapsing to her side by the sink. Every movement from there burned in her abdomen. What was the pain from? Answers swelled in her brain until she was brave enough to look down. In her side was the carving knife she had dropped in her rush to the sink, blood oozing from the cut. She was screaming again. She was going to die in here and Ari would be alone. She was dying alone. These thoughts continued until it all went dark.

Ari slowly crept down the stairs when Jade’s echoing screaming finally came to an end. The air was stale with the scent of iron and frozen with tension as every sound seemed to thicken the sickening feeling of dread. Fear shot through Ari’s veins as she crept to the kitchen, wood creaking under her weight with each step. Any time she stood idle she could hear drips. One, pause, two, pause, one, pause, two.

Three more steps and she’d be in the now lit room. Was going in the best option? Two more steps until she’s in the foul-smelling room. Was she ready? She really didn’t know. One more step and she’d be there. At the scene of a murder. With a deep breath of the smell of pumpkin and blood, she walked in.

‘Oh my god!” she screeched in horror. “Auntie?”

Her cries were met with no words, yet not silence. Bitter silence would have been so much better than the dripping making her stomach turn. As if it all hadn’t been enough, Ari began to feel sick. She ran out of the room, feet making a disgusting wet slap as she did. Her bloody footprints tracked her movement as she ran around panicking. What was she going to do, hide the bodies? Where would she even dump all that deadweight?

After wasting several important minutes, Ari walked back into the crimson kitchen, a bucket under her arm. She quickly set it down by the wood stove, and grabbed her auntie’s legs, yanking as hard as she could. She pulled the limp weight on the plastic tarp that Jade had so caringly laid out, pulling her to the porch, peeling up several boards. She repeated this for the neighbor boy.

The sound of dirt being shoveled soon filled the air as Ari worked, her hair sticking to her face as she dug a deep hole, one deep enough that she’d have to use the shovel to pull her weight out. Hour after hour made her dig a hole deep enough to mask the scent and wide enough to house an adult. With a huff, she looked up, the hole was ready.

She pulled in the corpses and began to try to free herself from the hole, only to be trapped by nearly 235 pounds of deadweight. She was stuck in a hole, underneath two corpses. What a great way to go. She let out a huff, finally giving into rest from her exhausted form. Her nose let out one final breath as she drifted off into her final moments.


End file.
